Atsugi Doin 40th Anniversary

On September 16, 2012 I had the great honor of attending the 40th Anniversary of Atsugi Doin in Kanagawa, Japan.

Atsugi Doin was founded and has been managed for the past 40 years by Kizumi Hiate sensei (8th dan). This dojo was also where I studied Shorinji Kempo during an academic exchange in the summer of 1985. Hiate sensei has been my teacher ever since and has supported all of us in Toronto with four teaching visits (1995, 2000, 2002, 2006) including two WSKO seminars.

The 40th anniversary events were held in three parts:

1. Embukai

Kenshi from all over Kanagawa Prefecture gathered at the Atsugi Sports Centre to show thier embu (pre-arranged technique displays).   The event also included displays of exceptional embu from Atsugi area kenshi including the Masui brothers and women's embu by Kurita kenshi and Yusaku kenshi.







2. Koshukai

Following lunch, all kenshi agthered again the main gymnasium for a special koshukai (study session) led by Yamasaki sensei (Hombu) and Yajima sensei (Kawagoe Doin). Yamasaki sensei gave a lecture that stressed the imprtance of acceptance and yielding both in human relations, business, politics and technique!  He then procedded to teach us exactly how he uses this philosophy to make effective self-defense without having to resort to force. I had the pleasure of being thrown about by Yamasaki sensei several times during the event and can attest that what he says is definitely true!

One unexpected and great surprise - I got to meet Keisuke Ogura kenshi once again.  We had been members of the same dojo in London some 25 years ago and hadn't had a chance to meet for at least 21 years.  Also, recent Toronto Branch member Hiroko Fujita made the trip from Tokyo to join in too. Nice to see her again!

3. Party Time!

Next we all headed out to the Nurumizu area and Atsugi Doin itself.  Hiate sensei built and opened his private dojo 10 years ago and it was fitting place to hold the 40th anniversary party.  Following speeches by Yamasaki sensei, Yajima sensei and senior teachers from Kanagawa and beyond, the event switched to the social focus (i.e. drinking and eating!).  An apres party with Machida Doin Old Boys including Yamasaki sensei, Yajima sensei, Hiate sensei, Morikawa sensei and others was particularly fun!

Toronto Branch alumnus Hiroko Fujita

Many, many kenshi and senior instructors turned out to support Hiate sensei in his 40th anniversary. Every part of the day was packed to capacity. Apart from myself, Anders Pettersson sensei - President of the Swedish Federation - and representatives from Humboldt University Branch in Germany were in attendance. Hiate sensei is not only a highly respected and loved teacher in Japan but worldwide too!

I wish to thank Hiate sensei and his family as well as Morohoshi sensei and his family for their great kindness and support during this amazing visit.

Gassho

Vancouver 2012

In late August three members of Toronto Branch flew out to Vancouver to attend the 2012 WSKO North American Regional Instructors' Study Session and the 3rd North American Taikai. These events coincided with the 30th anniversary of the founding of Vancouver Branch.

President Yuuki So of the WSKO was in attendance along with instructors Sato sensei (Fukuoka) and Kawashima sensei (Hombu).

The Study Session consisted of kihon, in-depth technical study of various technique families and philosophy lectures.

Kawashima sensei taught many variations on techniques and stressed that the key thing is to understand the basic principle of each technique and learn to apply it in various circumstances.

At the end of the first day of training all delegates attended a fun dinner party at a local Chinese restaurant. It was wonderful to have the chance to socialize with many friends from all across North America and neighboring branches from the Greater Toronto Area.

During the course of the Study Session, US and Canadian Branch Masters studied many aspects of the operating procedures for branches to help strengthen and unify our efforts. As part of these efforts we hope that a Canadian Shorinji Kempo Federation will soon emerge.

The 3rd North American Shorinji Kempo Taikai was held on the final day.  Events included tandoku embu (single form), kumi embu (pair form), dantai embu (group) and unyoho (sparring).

Tony and Christian from Toronto Branch took part in the events and brought back a total of two gold medals and one bronze medal. In addition, kenshi from nearby Yorkville Branch were also successful in the taikai and were awarded three gold medals. Together this represented the best performance of Toronto area kenshi in a taikai to date.

We wish to thank the members of Vancouver Branch, BC Tozenji Branch and UBC Branch for their huge efforts in making the Study Session and Taikai such a great success.

Gassho 

Grading success

Another step up for Luther, Lyndsay, Amy and Christian!

Four Toronto Branch kenshi were successful in recent gradings held on June 24th at the JCCC:

• Amy passed her 8th Kyu exam
• Lyndsay passed her 5th Kyu exam
• Luther and Christian passed their 2nd Kyu exams

We'd like to thank Louie sensei and Fontaine sensei for conducting the exams.

Congratulations to our members on their success!

Gassho

34th Annual Cornell Camp

Sakuyama sensei - uke

On Friday May 25th, five members of Toronto Branch set off on the long drive to Trumansburg, NY to take part in the 34th Annual Shorinji Kempo Cornell Camp.

Atsumi sensei teaching

The event is the longest continuously running Shorinji Kempo event in North America and it holds a special place in the hearts of Shorinji Kempo members in the Eastern US/Canada region.

Sakuyama sensei - kamae

For the first time in six years, both Sakuyama sensei and Atsumi sensei were able to come from Japan to lead the training. The teachers are direct students of Kaiso So Doshin (founder of Shorinji Kempo) and exemplify excellent technical and philosophical understanding of the art.

 

Christian - ryusui uke

We attended the first two days of the Camp and on each day Sakuyama sensei taught in the AM session and Atsumi sensei in the PM session.

Lunch with the teachers

As before, a great deal of attention was placed on basic aspects of body movement and stance before using these principles in technique.  The impact of this approach was dramatic - kenshi who had previously struggled to make good form suddenly appeared graceful and smooth in their movement.

Luther - ryusui geri

One great feature of the Camp was an open Q&A Session with the teachers on Saturday evening.  Some of the topics discussed included

• the early days of Shorinji Kempo
• anecdotes about Kaiso
• shooting the movie "The Shaolin Temple" with Jet Li in China
• Japan's recovery from the tsunami crisis

The Cornell Camp is located in a lush natural environment.  This year's wildlife tally included deer, rabbits, chipmunks, a water snake, a toad, a crawfish and a gazillion tadpoles.

Fine livin"

All of us from Toronto Branch had a wonderful time and learned many valuable things.

Beautiful Cornell Camp!

We wish to thank Sakuyama sensei and Atsumi sensei for coming all the way from Japan to teach us and also the Camp organizers for their selfless efforts in facilitating yet another excellent training opportunity.

Gassho

Our 17th Annual "Kickathon" was a success!

6000 combined kicks later...

It was another hot and airless night in the main gym of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as we each performed 500 kicks with a hearty kiai. Wishful thoughts of oxygen masks were combined with a feeling of accomplishment as we struggled on.

The reason for this physical anguish was our 17th Annual Charity "Kickathon" in aid of drug addiction treatment programs offered by CAMH.  Thanks to our many generous sponsors we were able to raise $7,520 this year for this important cause.

Indeed, this year the event hit a major milestone - we have now raised over $100,000 since the event began (the actual running total is $101,970).

Shorinji Kempo was founded in Tadotsu, Japan by Kaiso Doshin So in 1947 and has since then spread across the world.  Kaiso intended Shorinji Kempo to be more than just a martial art - he hoped that its members would play a positive role in society.  Every year in the month of May, Shorinji Kempo members all over the world engage in charitable and community events as a concrete reminder of Kaiso's goals.

Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch has chosen to assist CAMH in its efforts to combat drug addiction as its annual "Kaiso Day" activity. Drug addiction is one of the most powerful and devastating maladies of our our modern age. It not only leads to the destruction of the addict's life but has numerous community impacts too.

It is clear that many centralized approaches have had limited effectiveness in dealing with this issue (see the US "War on Drugs" for example).  However, providing help to those who wish to quit is a high payoff investment with an impressive success rate.  It is this type of approach that our event supports.
  
We would like to thank our many family members, friends, business donors and colleagues for their generous ongoing support of our charity event.

All done!

We also wish to recognize the great efforts of CAMH in helping Canadians overcome the challenges of addiction and mental illness.

The CAMH event  donation page will be online for a few more days, so please donate!

Gassho

Hiroko Fujita - my experience at Toronto Branch

It was a great experience practicing Shorinji Kempo at Toronto Branch. I was happy to join there as my first Dojo outside of Japan from September 2011 until March 2012.

I was a bit nervous before joining since I didn't know what to expect, however McCulloch sensei and every Toronto Branch member welcomed me warmly. I realized that in Shorinji Kempo it is possible to bridge between countries. Everybody at Toronto Branch practices seriously and has fun.

Training at Toronto Branch had the same feeling as I was used to in Japan and my experience there gave me great friendship with the members. 

I highly recommend for Torontonians and Japanese Kenshi to join practice at Toronto Branch.

Many thanks and best regards,

Gassho,

Hiroko Fujita
Shokenshi, 2nd dan
Ehime, Japan

Grading success

Tony (left) and Stew (right)

Toronto Branch members have been successful in recent dan gradings.

Tony passed his 2nd dan examination on March 4, 2012 and Stew passed his Junkenshi 1st dan examination on February 22, 2012.

Congratulations!

We'd like to thank Louie-sensei and Fontaine-sensei for conducting the examinations.

Gassho

Season's Greetings from Toronto Branch

Year End Ceremony 2011

Grading success!

Toronto Branch members have been successful in recent gradings.

Lyndsay passed her 6th kyu examination on September 11, 2011 and brothers Luther and Christian passed their 3rd kyu examination on October 17, 2011.

Congratulations!

We'd like to thank Louie-sensei and Fontaine-sensei for conducting the examinations.

Gassho

33rd Annual Cornell Camp

Toronto Branch members with Sakuyama-sensei

In a weekend framed by thunderstorms of truly epic proportions, five members of Toronto Branch travelled to Trumansburg, NY to take part in the 33rd annual Cornell Camp - one of the longest continually running Shorinji Kempo events in the world.

The Camp was led this year by Sakuyama-sensei of Ibaragi Takahagi Branch in Japan. The presence of Sakuyama-sensei at the event was incredible since he hails from a region of Japan devastated by the effects of the great eastern earthquake.

Sakuyama-sensei has the rare ability to simultaneously and effectively teach a wide range of skill levels (e.g. beginner to 5th dan) in such a way that all benefit equally. Indeed, the Camp began with close attention to footwork and body movement before moving on to applications.

In addition to the masterful teachings of Sakuyama-sensei, we once again enjoyed the communal spirit of the Camp - one where all members can practice the teachings of Shorinji Kempo and express them in all their activities.

Beautiful Camp Barton - the site of Cornell Camp

We wish to thank Sakuyama-sensei and the organizers of the camp for providing such a great experience.

Gassho

16th Annual Charity "Kickathon" for CAMH Foundation

These legs are gonna do some kickin'!

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Doshin So - the founder of Shorinji Kempo. Our founder always viewed his art primarily as a way of developing people to equip them to effectively contribute to society. All Shorinjji Kempo branches around the world engage in charitable work or social programs in the month of May in memory of the life of Doshin So.

Since 1996 the members of Shorinji Kempo Toronto Branch have held events in support of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Limbering up - with feeling!

This year we held our 16th Annual Charity Kickathon on behalf of the CAMH Foundation at the CAMH Russell Street site in the university area of Toronto.

The Kickathon in full swing!

All members completed 500 kicks in return for generous sponsorship from many donors.
The final total raised this year was $6,450.

We would like to thank our wonderful friends, families, co-workers and employers for their incredible generosity in supporting this event.


The funds raised in our Kickathon will be used by CAMH to support:

1. Research into the roots causes of drug addiction
2. Treatment programs to help addicts wean themselves off drugs.

We sincerely hope that this initiative will help addicts rebuild their lives and know once again the joy of living.

We would also like to thank the staff of the CAMH Foundation for their hard work in managing the donations this year.

Thumbs up for CAMH!

Gassho

Grading success!

Patrick & Stew - the new 1st kyu


Patrick Lindsey and Stewart Stevenson of Toronto Branch successfully passed their examination for the rank of 1st Kyu on February 20, 2011.

The examination was held at Yorkville Branch and their examiner was Louie-sensei (Yorkville Branch Master). We wish to thank Louie-sensei for graciously hosting this exam and conducting the test.

Congratulations Patrick and Stew!

Gassho

Season's Greetings

My experience at Toronto Branch - Sayaka Fujita

Toronto branch which I have been indebted belonged by many high grade holders whom I could ask for advice, and also the fellows who have lower grade have great motivation and attitude to be better and they helped me a lot to be better together.

I have felt that the environment existence is because of the Toronto branch master McCulloch sensei's character. He often told me that I could ask him for help whatever I need, and the members of the branch were the same to such a stranger who is from abroad (me).

I learned a lot from them, to help each other, the importance for continuing something, how to express oneself (which I'm not good at) and so on.

And I could take part in a seminar and taikai (competition), and also take a grading test for black belt. These have been very wonderful experiences for me and I wouldn't be able to get through those without their support.

The purpose of my restarting Shorinji Kempo had been just to get a black belt. However, it's been changed through my experiences in Toronto branch to continue Shorinji Kempo as long as possible and to help somebody new who want to learn with us just like Toronto branch people did to me.

I'm going back to Japan soon but I'd like to visit them again as a better kenshi someday.

Thank all Toronto branch members very very much. I will never forget you all!

Gassho,

Sayaka Fujita
Junkenshi, 1st dan

Grading success!

Congratulations to Sayaka and Kevin who passed the exam for Junkenshi 1st dan at Toronto Branch this evening!

Many thanks to Louie-sensei for conducting the examination.

Gassho

Uebayashi-san visits Toronto Branch

Ms. Uebayashi (front row, second from left)

Ms. Hidemi Uebayashi of the WSKO Secretariat of Shorinji Kempo Hombu came to visit our branch on October 25th.

Uebayashi-san had completed her first marathon race the previous day in Niagara Falls and came to Toronto for a few days of sightseeing and rest.

Uebayashi-san has provided invaluable help to Toronto Branch since she began working at Hombu in the mid-1990s so we were absolutely delighted to have her come to our branch.

All of the members of Toronto Branch wish to thank Uebayashi-san from the bottom of our hearts for her constant kindness and help.

Gassho